Don't plan on spending New Year's Day snuggling by the fire. In fact, don't plan on having a fire at all.

Bay Area air regulators have issued the season's first winter Spare the Air alert, which bans Bay Area residents from lighting wood fires in fireplaces or stoves on Tuesday.

"Current weather conditions are expected to allow air pollution to build up to unhealthy levels on New Year's Day," according to a statement from Jack Broadbent, head of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. "Sitting by the fire during the holidays may conjure up fond memories, but it's important that everyone forgoes burning during this alert so we can all enjoy a happy, healthy holiday."

A cold, low-pressure weather system from Alaska has settled over the region, bringing cool, still air that collects such pollution as wood smoke and car exhaust.

"It is supposed to be cold and dry through much of the week, including New Year's," said Mark Strudley, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service. "I don't think there will be a lot of cloud cover."

Temperatures will hover in the low 50s and high 40s during the day and dip into the low 40s at night in Oakland and San Francisco.

A freeze warning has been issued for North Bay valleys, where nighttime temperatures could fall to the high 20s. The system will stay over the Bay Area until at least the weekend, Strudley said.

"There might be a very, very small chance of showers north of the Golden Gate in the later to midweek, but that's pretty tentative," Strudley said.